1. Field of Invention
This invention relates, in general, to cleaning patient medical containers and tubing and more specifically: colostomy bags, tubing, irrigation systems and stoma cone; urostomy bags and associated night drainage containers; nasal-gastric tubes; male and female urinary catheters, associated tubing, drainage collection containers and systems; incontinence bedside and leg containers, tubing and systems, and ileostomy drainage containers.
Cleansing and deodorizing medical storage containers and connected tubing and systems is often difficult for the users of such devices. The difficulty presents itself during manipulation, filling and flushing of the container using its adapter, tubing and drain. For example, medical waste storage tubing has an internal crossection that is typically less than one-half inch in diameter, making cleansing not an easy task.
The prior art has failed to provide for an efficient means of irrigation, cleansing, and deodorizing of medical waste storage containers and systems.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In order to provide background information so that the invention may be completely understood and appreciated in its proper context, reference may be made to a number of prior art patents as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,503 to Wellman is concerned with an apparatus for cleaning body waste bags with water through the use of a faucet diverter valve. This patent proposes a diverter valve with internally threaded attachment to the faucet for diverting water from normal faucet flow to channel the flow through a reduced size opening attached to the connect outlet tube of the waste bag, thereby providing a means of washing the bag with water. This patent does not address the irrigation with any other cleansing or deodorizing fluid except faucet water under its associated pressure. The present invention assists in cleansing the container with a mixture of water and a secondary cleansing fluid by means of a negative pressure action on the secondary fluid provided by the pressurized water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,495 to Berfield provides for an auxiliary chemical intake system for a pressure washer having a spray nozzle in fluid communication with a pressurized water source and either an internal or external fluid tank or both tanks. This patent provides a complex apparatus by which the fluid agent in the external tank may be a different fluid and its rate of introduction into the water stream is variable under the control of several variable diameter apertures. This patent does not provide for the rapid easy attachment of the device to a standard interior faucet water supply, nor for the attachment of small diameter tubing required to flush containers. The patent also lacks a fluid container designed to minimize the cleaning/deodorizing fluid waste and reduce the possibility of accidental spillage. The patent requires fluid flow rates and pressures to operate that far exceed those feasible with typical medical waste containers and associated tubing. Operating at these pressures and flow rates could cause premature failure of any of the tubing, bag or connections. The present invention distinguishes itself therefrom by using a faucet adapter intake tube for the water intake and an adapter tip at the fluid mixing end of the system to allow for efficient adapting to the tubing of the medical waste storage container for cleaning, deodorizing and flushing and providing a container specifically designed for the reduction of cleansing/deodorizing fluid waste and accidental spillage. The simple single fluid internally attachable container of the present invention is in fluid communication with the pressurized water.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,132 to Parker discloses methods and apparatus for distributing liquid solutions employing a water jet pump and adapter for connection to an ordinary garden hose with ordinary pressure specifically for liquid fertilizer application to lawns within limits of prescribed concentrations. The liquid fertilizer solution is housed primarily in a stationary pail. This is inadequate for use with nasal-gastric tubes containers because it is susceptible to spillage and to liquid waste due to settling in the inaccessible regions at the bottom of the pail. The water jet pump device is internally threaded to be secured to the exterior faucet and externally threaded to accept a typical garden hose with a nozzle spray attachment at the terminal end. The patent requires fluid flow rates and pressures to operate that far exceed those feasible with the medical waste storage bag and tubing. Operating at those pressures and flow rates could cause premature failure of any of the tubing, bag or connections. The present invention distinguishes itself therefrom by using an interior faucet adapter intake tube for the water intake and an adapter tip at the fluid mixing end of the system to allow for efficient adapting to the tubing with a diameter of less than one-half inch connected to the medical waste storage night container for cleaning, deodorizing and flushing. The present invention also provides an internally attachable cleansing fluid container specifically designed for the reduction of cleansing/deodorizing fluid waste and accidental spillage.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,724,583 to Targosh et al. provides a hose apparatus with liquid mixing nozzle for connection to a primary liquid supply pressure source, such as water, to a secondary liquid which embodied a mixing and discharge nozzle especially designed to mix the liquids and aerate the same in the nozzle for a homogeneous mixture of liquids. The patent requires fluid flow rates and pressures to operate that far exceed those feasible with the medical waste storage bag and tubing. Operating at those pressures and flow rates could cause premature failure of any of the tubing, bag or connections. The present invention distinguishes itself therefrom by not requiring a complex aspirator mixing value in the nozzle for aeration and variable homogeneous flow mixing nozzle and by providing an internal container designed to reduce waste and prevent spillage. The present invention further distinguishes itself by having a simple interior faucet adapter intake tube for the water intake and an adapter tip at the fluid mixing end of the system to allow for efficient adapting to the tubing of a diameter, typically less than one half an inch, connected to the medical waste storage night container for cleaning, deodorizing and flushing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,468 to Davenport provides a spray mix applicator designed particularly for commercial cleaning purposes by the mixing and spraying of a mixture of two liquids at a prescribed flow rate in a prescribed proportion to each other. The system discloses a complicated series of flow-control valve, check flow valve, on-off valve, fittings, couplings and spray tip for connection to an industrial size external drum of secondary fluid. This invention provides a spray mix applicator for threaded attachment to a standard water hose and will spray the mixture of two liquids in a prescribed proportion to each other. The present invention provides for attachment to the interior water supply faucet and a venturi means of providing the suction and fluid mixing effect, coupled with a simple efficient adapter tip for connection to tubing typically less than a half inch in diameter. The present invention also provides a fluid container designed for minimal waste and spill prevention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,416,347 to Gregory describes a bottle which is of pyramidal three-sided angular design for preventing spillage and having an inner bottom surface in vertical alignment with its mouth and a depression to collect the remainder of fluid when the bottle is nearly empty. The present invention provides a simpler single stage conical fluid container designed for tip and spillage prevention combined with a simple concave interior bottom surface of the fluid container's base for minimal fluid waste.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 211,563 to Cherry provides for a bottle with a two stage conical design with a single nonthreaded lip, approximately one fourth the diameter of the internally convex base. The present inventions' container distinguishes itself by a single stage conical design with a threaded neck whose diameter is, in the preferred embodiment, one half of the diameter of the base with its associated concave internal base.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 99,136 to Newman for an ink bottle with a single stage conical design with a nonthreaded circular neck approximately one half the diameter of the base with an internal elliptically concave base that begins approximately one half the height of the bottle. The present invention distinguishes itself by having a secondary fluid container designed with both a threaded neck and a concave internal base that is approximately five sixths the distance from the neck, thereby maximizing the fluid volume of the container while still providing minimal fluid waste.
Whatever the precise merits, features, and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes of the medical waste storage patient equipment irrigation system of the present invention.